Ri Yong-gil

Ri Yong-gil (1951-) was the Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army from 2013, succeeding Kim Kyok-sik.

Biography
Ri Yong-gil was born around 1951, as he was in his sixties by 2016. In April 2002 he became a Lieutenant-General in the Korean People's Army and led the North Korean 5th Army Corps from 2007 to 2012, and in 2010 he became a Colonel-General and an elected member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. In late 2012 he became chief of the General Staff Operations Bureau and in 2013 succeeded Kim Kyok-sik as Chief of the General Staff of the KPA after his death from acute respiratory failure.